Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
As I am writing this, I am marking two years since I lost my mother to breast cancer. As I ponder how to convey the message of this week's column, I cannot help but remember the times I spent at my mother's bedside as she struggled through pain and agony during her last few hours.
She looked frail and weak and could not even remember her son's name. It is really sad how cancer not only affects the person who is suffering from it but every single person around it.
It is the most devastating thing to experience, I can truly understand. I miss how my mother used to wake me up in the morning and nag me that it's time to go to school. I miss how she used to welcome me home with a big smile and a warm hug. I miss how she used to give me certain advice about girls and how to treat women in general.
I miss her existence and her presence. It is really sad and unfortunate that I had to lose her so young and early in my life but if my loss has taught me anything it has taught me strength and perseverance during the toughest times.
I regret not listening to my mother when she knew best. I regret not hugging her more when she was here. I regret arguing with her over the silliest of things. I regret choosing to spend my time with my other friends when I could have spent it more with her. I regret that many other families have to suffer the same experience I went through.
I am truly dreading walking down the aisle as a student for one last time when I graduate. Knowing that my mother will not be there standing and snapping pictures like the other mothers kills me.
I cannot imagine the day I walk down another similar aisle and my own mother is not there to encourage me as I wed the other love of my life. I cannot imagine how difficult it will be that my future children will grow up not having a grandmother to spoil them with countless butterscotch cookies and bedtime stories.
It is the smallest of things that we take for granted in life. As I read what I have just written, I cannot help but ask myself over and over again how many other kids, just like me, can relate to the loss of a mother. A mother means everything to us and losing one is like losing a piece of one's soul.
I hope more women are encouraged to undergo mammograms and early testing for breast cancer. A woman owes it to herself to protect not only herself but also her children and her family. All I can hope for now is that there is someone reading this column who is touched by the magnitude of my words.
To my mother Zenaida: I hope that you are in a better place right now looking over me. I hope that I have made you proud and I shall continue on the path of honouring your name and the sacrifices you have made.
